Goods of unknown value were razed by fire in Misuuni shopping center at the outskirts of Kitui town, Kitui Central sub-county in Kitui County on Thursday evening (6th January).
The fire is suspected to have been caused by an electric fault and the business owners in the market came to rescue together with a fire engine from the County Government of Kitui.
Confirming the incident, Benard Mwela the officer-in-charge of the Kitui County emergency response team disclosed that they got the report late but they tried their best to come and extinguish the fire.
“The fire was intense and spread quickly but we have struggled to put it off and contained it but we are sorry because people’s shops have been burned and goods destroyed, there is no any case of injured or dead people and we appeal to the members of the public to always call for help urgently in case of such occurrences, ” Mwela said.
The residents narrated about the incident saying that they heard a blast from one of the shops in the center before a cloud of smoke filled the air.
Raphael Kithome a resident stated that “I heard a blast like that of a tire bursting then rushed and found a shop of the one Mrs. Ngandi on fire and we started breaking the doors to save the goods and extinguish the fire. The fire spread so fast and we decided to call Chief Makuthu of Township Location who called the fire engine and in five minutes the engine arrived at the scene.”
The residents also urged the Kenya Power and Lighting Company to always make sure that there are no faulty connections in the power because it is alleged that the fire was caused by faulty electricity cables.
Mwela called upon Kitui residents to report such incidences through 010-595-2213 which is a toll-free number for the emergency response team to come faster and aid the situation.
